Prey
by LINAxx
Summary: I'm terrified to open my eyes, to find something there next to me. But more than that, I'm afraid to open my eyes and see nothing. To see nothing and know that something so invisble and unreal can have this kind of control over me. pairing undecided


**A/N:**** It's new, it's different, and it's most definitely confusing. This first chapter has a lot of clues, but is mostly bland, in my own opinion. I sincerely hope you like this, as I have a lot of ideas for it. Brownie points if you can pick out the line in this chapter that comes from a song. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:**** Never owned it and never will.**

_**Prey**_

**Chapter One: The beginning**

There was thumping, beating, pounding and every other onomatopoeia for the sound of a heart. The air housed a deep static sensation and every moment felt tense. Cluttered, loud, confining. There was simply no way to describe it. The walls echoed and moved inches at a time as if they were sheets of water. In and out, trying to catch a breath as if it would be the last. The watery walls were filling up the room and gasps came in short intervals. The box was closing in, centimeter by centimeter, and the ceiling was coming closer. There were whispers all around and yet they came from no where. Farther and closer, they moved with an unnerving quickness.

The darkness was inevitable. I breathed it in, deeply and sharply and the black filled my lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut and I felt the tears. They brushed against the underside of my eyelid and I felt it sting against the back of my eye. My head banged viciously against my skull. The headache appeared out of absolutely no where. I wanted to press my hand to my forehead, but I couldn't even feel the rest of my body. All I felt was the chaos. I felt the spins, and it felt sticky all around me. I couldn't open my eyes anymore and the whispers just got louder. It sounded like a room of a million people and yet I could sense the walls so very close to me.

The eyes were all over me, I could feel it. Every hair on my body stood and I couldn't move without feeling like something would touch me. Like something was waiting for me to fall into its grasp. The muscles in my neck tensed and my shoulders tucked forward, drawing in closer as I tried to keep to myself. I didn't want to move, or think, or feel. I wanted to wrap my arms around my shoulders and crawl right up into a ball. I unconsciously ran my hands over my shoulders and my back, trying to take away the tenseness and sensitivity; To touch my skin to know that I could still feel.

Then silence. At once everything ceased. Before there had been the sound of rushing water, and the noise that the bathtub makes as it fills. The whispers were gone and I couldn't hear the deathly static. I listened intently and the only noise that invaded my ears was the sound of my own deep breaths. In, out, in, out. And then another pattern of breathing followed that wasn't my own. I stopped instantly, listening for the noise and then I heard the footsteps that followed. Violins played in my ear and I could hear the soft, but hard plucking of a guitars strings. The footsteps came ever closer, but I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Slowly, my hands reached out as the tune of a piano was played in reverse. I felt my hands reach out and touch walls that were only inches from me. They were slimy and yet smooth. It felt like someone had placed silly putty on them. My fingers pushed deeply into the substance and my nails dug in. I heard the footsteps and that sense of impending danger pressed ever closer to me. I grabbed pieces of the wall into my hands, digging through it with a madness as the _tap tap tap_ became just a few feet away. Tears were falling, I could feel them almost as much as I felt the fear in the middle of my abdomen. My hands pushed against the putty wall, and when I tried to retract them they stuck. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and I couldn't suck anything in. It was if there were cellophane over my mouth.

In an instant, there were fingers in my hair. I hadn't even heard his footsteps coming up so close so quickly. My blond locks twisted and molded to his every motion. I felt his hand on my neck, playing with the loose chain that hung there. I felt the air on my shoulder as he breathed out. His nose trailed from the end of my shoulder all the way up to my ear, breathing in the smell of my perfume. I was much to horrified to speak. I couldn't shake, I couldn't scream, and my hands remained stuck to the substance on the walls.

"If your stomach feels weak," The voice echoed lightly, breathing me in, "Then my work here is... done." The word done came out in a low growl. I could barely understand it as it slurred together.

Then I was falling. The silly putty walls transformed themselves back into the thin waterfalls and I felt myself slide through. The water came over every inch of me and then I was weightless. The wind rushed past me as I soared down towards wherever I would land. My hair whipped at my face and the only thing I could be grateful for was that I was no longer in the clutches of whatever kind of monster that was. I cut through the air faster and faster until there was nothing. I felt myself hit the ground lightly as if I had only been dropped from a foot above the ground.

I fell to my knees, crawling on all fours. I could feel the same putty feeling beneath me and it molded as I crawled along. I heard the violins begin to play harshly again and I took a deep breath in. Immediately I coughed and began to choke on my own air. The smell was absolutely terrible. There were no ways in which to describe it. The smell burned my nose and the cold burned against my throat, almost chilling me completely. I could feel my entire body shake involuntarily and I was afraid to open my eyes, worried they may actually freeze. However, I took that chance and I wished I didn't.

The box I had been in before now became a vast cemetery, except cemetery wasn't quite the right word. The putty substance beneath me was mud, and I wasn't sure how it managed to not freeze completely. There were bodies. Dead bodies littered the entire space. There were mangled arms and legs coming from beneath the mud, and my mouth merely opened and closed unable to breath or speak or do anything at all. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach and I tried to close myself tighter together to make sure I didn't touch anything. Then it happened.

I watched intently and my eyes opened ever wider as an arm in the distance began to dig itself out of the mud. The nails clutched onto whatever rocks it could find, anchoring itself as it pulled. The nails weren't even nails, they were like claws, and the arm looked unlike any of the other bodies strewn around me. I was terrified, and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of it. A shoulder popped out at an odd angle, and then another, and closely I gasped as I waited for the head.

I was screaming and struggling as hands wove their way around my eyes and around my mouth. I could feel the sharp claws grip into my arms and legs. The tears came down as I pulled and pushed, trying to pry myself away from their hold. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be happening.

"Lilly," they shook me left to right, screaming in my ears. Their voices were low and scratchy, echoing off of non-existent walls. "Lilly- Lilly," They growled deeper, and still deeper. The menace clawed at my soul and I felt the fear root deeply in my heart.

"Lilly?!" My heart pounded nearly out of my chest as I shot up. There were blankets all around me and the whispers were still fresh in my ear, but fading so very quickly. My arms swung around freely, feeling all the materials beneath me.

I was in bed. My mom was leaned over me, her hand on my arm. I looked up to her and her eyes were furrowed in concern. I laid on the bed, my comforter drawn up to my hips. The sheets were tangled around my legs and I wasn't even aware that I'd been sleeping.

"Lilly, your going to be late," Was all my mother said to me. I furrowed my eyebrows, pressing my hand to my head to think. I couldn't begin to remember where I was supposed to be, or even how I'd ended up falling asleep. My head was in swirls and I was desperately trying to hold onto any conscious thought. A million and one things were running through my mind and I was trying to separate them all and think. Think about anything and everything that I possibly could. What was I going to be late for?

"Honey," My mom spoke as she went to leave my room, "You'd better finish getting ready. Your father will drive you to Miley's in half an hour."

Miley's. I had my answer and then it all started coming back to me. There was a Hannah Concert tonight and of course Lola was supposed to attend. I used to love going to Miley's concert at any chance I could, but now I rarely went. To be honest, it started to get a little boring after so long. Whenever she started a new tour, I went along for a few stops, and I went to a concert every once in a while, but it wasn't like I went to _every single one_ like I used to. I still liked all the celebrity events though, those were fun.

Today was different though. My parents were going out of town for the weekend and me and my brother were staying at friend's houses. I was going to Miley's concert, and then back to her house for a few days. My parents didn't trust me and Dimitry to stay home alone even though we were both seventeen. Well, that was mostly Dimitry's fault anyways, for throwing the huge house party while my parents were in the Caribbean last year.

I climbed out of bed, attempting to get ready like my mom had told me to. I grabbed a green loose fitting, low neck tank top out of my closet and immediately threw it on. It took me a few minutes to riffle through my drawers, and then the pile on my computer chair before I found the white denim short shorts I had intended on wearing. After getting dressed, I stuffed a few extra clothes and some pajamas into my backpack, along with a few other things I'd need for the weekend at Miley's. I grabbed a green clip off my dresser and twisted my hair up into a messy bun. I didn't really need to do anything with it. Once I got to Miley's I'd probably be putting on my wig and letting Miles put on my makeup.

"Lilly! Ten minutes!" My mom yelled from downstairs. I grabbed my long cardigan off my chair and slipped it on over top. It was the middle of summer, but sometimes it got a little chilly at night. I slung my backpack over one shoulder and started my way downstairs. When I reached the bottom, I let the bag fall near the front door and then made my way into the kitchen.

Dimitry was sitting at the table, a can of coke open as he finished off the last of his kraft dinner. Personally, I didn't know how he could down the stuff. I found it absolutely revolting. We were technically twins, but we couldn't have been more different. He had brown eyes, and I had blue. His hair was a light brown and mine was blond. Most people at school didn't even know that we were related.

"So where are you staying?" I asked him, sliding into the seat across from his. I reached out and grabbed his half empty coke, dragging it closer and taking a sip. We were family and we didn't mind sharing. Despite our differences, me and Dimitry could actually stand each other.

"Aiden's," He answered without even sparing me a glance, "Miley?"

"Yup." It was all we had to say. The two of us sat in a relatively comfortable silence until mom came in to interrupt. She started moving around the kitchen, clearing Dim's dishes and asking us nonstop questions. Do you have everything? Do you have your phones? Do you know the number where we're staying? Do you have your keys? Miley and Aiden's parents said yes? Blah? Blah blah blah blah? Blah blah blah blah blah _blah?_ Lilly? Are you paying attention?

"Yes mom," I could only drone out, rolling my eyes. Dim snickered from across the table and I shot him a look. He merely stuck his tongue out at me. If I had a younger brother, he would be so much easier to control. Unfortunately though, I was stuck with Dimitry, who was older by nine minutes- and he never forgot it either.

"Go get your bags and get in the car, kids," Mom demanded, opening the fridge to find herself a drink.

"I thought dad was driving us?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"Your father's had too many drinks already," She rolled her eyes, practically slamming the fridge door closed, "He said he would drop you off, and then he goes and opens a beer. How irresponsible." Me and Dim shared a quick look before we turned back to Mom. We braced ourselves for what we knew was coming.

Our parents had been at each other's throats now for a long time. I think thats why they went on so many weekend vacations. They loved each other, I know they did, but they had so many differences. Each of them had their quirky habits that annoyed the hell out of the other and they were starting to get to the point where they couldn't stand to be together. They tried the weekend thing to spice things up, to 'fall back in love'. I'm almost positive that both of them knew it was no use, which is why they didn't ever stay longer than a weekend.

The thing I hated most about the fighting was the way my mom was. She always had something negative to say to us. She was always bitching about the things dad did to me or Dim and she didn't stop to think that maybe we didn't care, or want to hear it. That in itself caused a lot of resentment and fights between me and Mom. Dad never said anything mean about Mom, so I always felt the need to stick up for him when Mom started one of her rants. I was starting to get really sick of it. She always talked about divorcing him, and how she couldn't do it any more. I told her to shut up because there were other people in the family that happened to care about him. Just because she didn't like him didn't mean I had to hate him too and I don't think she understood that.

"And yet you have a glass of wine in your hand," Slipped out of my mouth quietly. I thought she hadn't heard it, but I was proven wrong when Dim and I were told to, "Get in the car! Now!" Talk about your typical dysfunctional family.

I walked out of the kitchen and to the living room. I was a little confused to see my backpack on the couch, but I picked it up and placed it over a shoulder. I pulled out my new cork wedges from the coat closet at the front door and put them on. Dim followed behind me with his backpack and then the both of us climbed in the car, him riding shotgun. The air was tense and awkward as neither of us knew quite what to say. He didn't speak and I wasn't about to try. We only put on our seat belts and got as comfortable as we could as we waited for Mom.

Minutes later she walked out of the house, keys in hand and jumped into the drivers seat. The silence broke as the car roared to life and we pulled out of the driveway. I sat in the back seat, watching the Malibu scenery race past as we made our way to Aiden's house to drop Dimitry off first. Aiden was a nice kid. Him and Dimitry had been best friends since we were young, at least seven. I wasn't exactly sure if you could call me and Aiden friends though. We saw each other a lot because of Dim, but its not like just the two of us hung out. We joked around and occasionally talked on IM, but we weren't nearly as close as he was with my brother.

Soon we pulled into the driveway of a nice house a few streets over. It was bigger than ours and had a sports car in the driveway already. Aiden's parents owned a rather large business and his mom also worked as a stylist. They were really nice people, even though I'd only met them a few times. They were a traditional Polish family, and Dim had definitely picked up on it. He'd mutter a couple words, or say something to Mom or Dad that he knew they wouldn't understand.

Dim grabbed his backpack and so did I. He got out of the car, leaving the door open for me, and walked up the front steps to the front door. I got out of the car too, but instead, I merely got back into the passenger seat. Closing the door and rolling down the window, I watched as Dim waited. A few moments later, the front door opened to reveal a young woman with blond hair- Aiden's mom.

"Cześć, Mrs. Paslawski," Dim greeted her and she spoke back to him in Polish. Aiden and his mom looked nothing alike. She was blond haired and brown eyed, and he was the exact opposite. Aiden had natural dark brown hair, sometimes mistakable for black. His eyes were this really awesome colour of green and yellow that I'd always liked. He looked a lot like his dad, while his little sister Trudi was a replica of his Mom.

"Hi Lilly!" I looked up, seeing Aiden wave to me as he grabbed my brother's backpack from him. I waved back as Mom began to pull out of the driveway. Sometimes we stayed for a bit and Aiden would come out to talk to me, but I guess today we were in a rush. So as quickly as we came, we were gone, but with one less child.

"Aiden's nice," Was all Mom said as she began to drive. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her glance over at me, the tiniest of smirks.

"I'm aware," I rolled my eyes. This was another one of her not so subtle hints. Ever since my train of bad dates and even worse boyfriends in freshman year she'd been suggesting I date Aiden. It was true, Aiden was nice, and he wasn't hard to look at either, but I could never see him like that. I'd known him for so long and knew so much about him that I would never be able to think of him in a romantic sense. Besides, he was Dimitry's best friend. How awkward would that be.

The rest of the ride was relatively silent as we made our way to Miley's. Looking down at the clock, I noticed that it was around five thirty. I must've fell asleep for much longer than I'd intended when I was initially packing for the weekend. Miley probably wouldn't be happy that I was getting to her house later than I'd intended to. I was planning on walking over there around three and the two of us were going to get our nails done and go to the mall to pick out outfits for the concert together. Unfortunately, now we wouldn't have time for that.

When we pulled up, I quickly climbed out of the car. Unlike with Dim and Aiden, I didn't bother to ring the doorbell. I merely waved to my mom as she began to pull away as I turned the knob and walked inside the Stewart residence. I'd slept over here and just been here so many times in general that Robby Ray insisted that I just come inside. So I walked in and took off my shoes next to the front door. Jackson was making a sandwich in the kitchen and we greeted each other briefly before he told me Miley was in the Hannah closet. I thanked him and made my way up the stairs towards her room.

I walked in, dropping my backpack beside her bed. Hearing the noise, she leaned back and popped her head out of the closet. Seeing me there, I guess she lost her balance because she fell backwards over the circular chair in the centre of the closet. I laughed.

"Lilly! Where have you been?" She jumped up, walking towards me. She had on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top with piles of clothes around her. Her Hannah wig was on tightly and it looked like she had put on a small amount of makeup. She didn't bother to do much with her wig or makeup because the stylist people would do all of that for her before the concert. All she had to do was pick out an outfit to wear to the venue, one that looked good in case we decided to go out afterwards. Now that we were going into grade twelve, Robby Ray wasn't as strict with Miley. She didn't have a curfew, but if she was going to be out late, she had to call and inform her dad where she was. It was a lot better than my parents, who couldn't even trust us with the house for the weekend.

"I fell asleep while I was packing," I smiled sheepishly, following her as she walked back into the closet, "Sorry." She just laughed lightly, shaking her head and tossing a wig to me. It was a dark purple wig, one that I was very fond of. It was layered, straight, and the ends landed just below my chest. I placed the wig to the side, pulling my blond hair up into a tighter bun. I placed the wig on my head and into place, snapping all of the clips to make sure it didn't fall off. I'd done this so many times before that it didn't take longer than a few minutes to get ready. I then turned my focus on helping Miley pick out an outfit. I didn't need to find one for myself because I was already dressed. It was simple, yes, but I didn't have time for fancy. Besides, It wasn't like I was the one on stage and paparazzi weren't going to be snapping a million pictures of Lola.

It was about six fifteen when we were finally leaving the house. I still had on my plain shorts and loose tank top with long black cardigan, while Miley had on some loud, 80's influenced outfit. The two of us couldn't have looked any different. Usually I was the outrageous one, with the crazy dresses and wild shoes. Most of the time I stood out next to her, not only because of my hair- or wig- colour, but most of the Lola clothes were things I would _never_ wear as Lilly.

Me and Miley climbed into the limo that waited outside of her house. It had been almost four months since my last Hannah event and the press were starting to write rumors. First me and Hannah had fights, then I was in the hospital, and the most recent one was that I'd run off to Spain for a six month vacation. I actually kind of wish the last one was true. Spain seemed like a nice place to spend half the year. At least, it was better than home when my parents were always fighting. Now that school was out for the summer, it was worse because I had to be around them that much more.

Before I knew it, I could see the bright lights coming through the tinted windows of the limo. We, of course, were at the Hannah Concert. I could hear the screams, even though I knew we were going around the back. There was no way that Miley would be able to get through the crowd that was inevitably in front of the venue. The crowds were always big these days. The last tour that Hannah had gone on had been about two years ago and ever since she'd been doing scattered shows every time she could. Most people jumped at the chance to get a ticket since it wasn't all that often that she came around. We had a lot of homework now, and it would have looked really suspicious is she took more than a month off of school. Her double life had worked out well so far, and she didn't want to chance it.

We pulled up around back and the two of us skillfully climbed out, rushing into the building before photographers snapped hundreds of pictures. Miley didn't want that now, since she wasn't made up or anything. I swear, sometimes shes too concerned about her looks. I, on the other hand, couldn't care less. I would've stood out there, posing in the dreadfully plain attire I was currently in. I was just amazed that people actually wanted my picture. After all these years I still hadn't gotten used to it. People wrote articles about me, and I had my Lola pictures in magazines. Lola Luftnagle had been on _three_ best dressed lists, and I'd almost made it on last year's _Top 100 Up and Coming stars_. Since when was I a star? I didn't do anything except hang out with Hannah and some other close celebrity friends. I'd been called for radio interviews, and what really shocked me was that I had fan sites. Really. _Fan sites._

When we entered the building, stylists were all over Miley. No one really paid me much attention, but one of Hannah's assistants lead me down the hallway to the lounge. There was chocolate fountain, as usual, with various fruits around it for dipping. Being as clumsy as I was, I could only hope not to get anything on my white shorts, but thankfully, my long wig was up in a clip so none of it would fall into the fountain. Yeah, I didn't want to relive that memory again.

My hands found the strawberries and I couldn't resist dipping them into the chocolate fountain. They were, without a doubt, the best chocolate covered fruit. The second I took the bite, the smile found its way onto my face. This was one of the many reasons I loved coming to Miley's concerts when I did. The buffet table was beyond fabulous and I got to lounge around with whatever band was preforming with her. Actually, where were they, whoever they were? The concert started in maybe an hour, so they should be here prepping already. Miley hadn't really told me much though about who was playing. She had two other performers going on stage before her tonight and thats the extent of what I knew.

Since there was no one else there to talk to, I quickly made myself a plate of food. I had mostly chocolate covered strawberries, but there was some grapes and a few other snacks. I let the plate fall onto the coffee table and then I sat in front of it on the white couch. Hopefully I wouldn't spill anything on the couch either. I picked up the remote to the left of me and pressed the green button in the corner. The doors of the entertainment system in front of me slid open and the large screen television was visible. I searched for the power button to turn it on, but instead ended up pressing a different button. A 'door' slide open beneath the television to reveal several gaming consoles on a shelf. Instead of fiddling with the remote anymore, I got up and walked over. I pulled open a drawer and saw the stacks of games. Riffling through them, I pulled out Need for Speed, and placed it into the corresponding console. I found the flat screen's power button and turned it on, switching it to the appropriate channel to play the game. Grabbing the controller off the same shelf that housed the consoles, I found my way back to my seat, pressing all the buttons to get the game started.

I couldn't tell how much time had passed, but I was pretty far into the game for having started from scratch. I knew that the concert had started already and still no one had come in here. Miley _must've_ been about ready to go on now, so I couldn't figure out for the life of me where the other two bands were. My head was starting to hurt now from staring at the screen for so long, and I squinted my eyes, trying to finish the race. After this one, I'd lay down for a bit. I hadn't been getting much sleep lately, which is why I had probably napped for so long. For about a week now I'd been getting these terrible nightmares, and they only got worse as the days passed. None of them really made any sense and they didn't have any connection to each other. I figured it wasn't much to worry about, everyone gets nightmares. I'd just have to lay off all the scary movies for a while. Most parts of the nightmares I couldn't remember, but what I did was pretty odd. Thinking back, some parts just weren't ordinary. They were usually a pretty random sequence of events.

Still racing, I pressed my eyes closer together, narrowing my line of vision. I could hear light whispers in my ear and I tried to ignore it, concentrating on the game. This had been happening pretty often now too. It started a couple days after the nightmares. My mind was getting loopy because of my lack of sleep, so most times I brushed it off. Instead I watched the game play out in front of me, feeling a certain amount of disconnect from my hands as they expertly handled the controls.

"Oh, Hi-" I heart a voice to my right. I didn't respond, my fingers pressing the buttons and maneuvering the car on the screen.

"Hello?" A different voice came, and I was sure by now they were furrowing their eyebrows. My focus remained on the screen.

"Um, hello?" The first voice called again. Closer, closer, closer. Almost there. I could see the finish line in sight and I was so very close. There was another car right behind me, and I pressed whatever I could furiously.

"Yes!" My hands shot up above my head, "I won!" Placing the controller down, I turned to greet the boys in the doorway. It was Nate, Shane, and Jason of Connect three.

"Hi guys," I nodded, turning back to the table and picking up my plate. I stood, taking the empty dish over to the buffet table and leaving it in the 'dirty' pile for someone to pick up later, after the concert.

"Lola, right?" Shane asked, walking over to the mini fridge to grab himself something to drink, "Miley's friend?"

"Lilly, actually," I replied, brushing imaginary dirt off my butt and walking back to my place on the white couch, "Well, Lola yes, I guess. Hannah, Lola, and Miley, Lilly," I explained as simply as I could. Miley was pretty close with the Grey boys, however, I wasn't. I was sure that they'd understand my explanation though, knowing that if Hannah was Miley's secret identity, than Lola must be mine.

"Gotcha," Shane noted, grabbing a water. Nate sat down on a white chair next to me, and Jason walked over towards Shane.

"Can you pass me one, please?" I spoke to Shane, and instantly a bottle of water flew towards my head. I caught it. Even though I wasn't friends with the boys, it wasn't like I was uncomfortable or star struck around them. They were as normal as me and Miley were.

I twisted the cap off the water and then placed it down on the table. My purse was on the floor next to me, and I picked it up, riffling through it. It was so god damn hard to find anything in here. I had my wallet, my makeup, some packages of animal crackers and just about everything imaginable. Nate gave me a particularly odd look when I pulled out a can of hairspray that looked oddly like a fog horn. I could only give him an awkward smile and shrug my shoulders. Then I found what I was looking for: Tylenol. I'd been carrying a small bottle around with me for about a month or so, ever since I started to get sensitive to lights and sounds which usually set off a massive headache.

I popped off the cap, placing a hand to my head trying to ignore the whispers of Jason and Shane behind me. Out came two tiny red tablets, and I looked to Nate as he watched me carefully. "Headache," Was all I said, and he nodded, understanding immediately. I downed the pills with water as the pain increased slightly. Breathing deeply, I sat for a few moments before twisting around in my seat.

"Jesus, would you guys shut up," I half snapped at the two Gray boys standing by the buffet table eating fruits. Each of them had food in their mouth, an I tilted my head, confused for a moment, wondering how they'd been whispering. I didn't think much about it though, because the voices were gone now. Perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me again.

I gathered up all the stuff I'd taken out of my purse and began to put it all back in. I was just about to toss in the Tylenol when I felt a serious pounding beneath my eyes. I pressed my hands against them, applying pressure to alleviate pain, but it didn't seem to be working at all. If anything, it was getting worse. I dug my knuckles into my eyelids before flattening my hands and rubbing my forehead.

"You okay?" I felt the hand on my forearm. I was pretty sure it was Nate, but I wasn't about to open my eyes to make sure. I nodded lightly, still pressing my hands to my forehead. Behind me, I heard Shane and Jason begin to whisper deeply. If I listened close enough, I could hear the sound of rushing waterfalls. The pressure I felt on my forearm from Nate's own hand began to disappear until there was nothing. There was the sound of a heart beat and my short ragged breaths. There was the whispering and the light screams of agony in the distance of my oncoming nightmare. But the loudest of them all was the definite clatter as I dropped the small bottle of Tylenol to the floor and I fell into another sleepless nightmare. This was the very first event in a series of happenings that would haunt my memory forever. This was how it all began.

**A/N:**** And that was chapter one. Please give me all your thoughts and opinions on this piece. Good or negative, I want them all. I'd actually really love some constructive criticism to help me improve my writing. Tell me what you like, what you don't. Also, the poll on my profile will be open until the next chapter, and then it will close. For the choice of "Lilly/OC" , She would be ****paired with Aiden. Any ideas on who you'd like to see Miley with, if anyone? And one more question. Writing style in reference to POV. Stay with Lilly, switch between the two main characters, or portray a variety of people?**

**Review please. I love long ones.**


End file.
